CO of Attack Sub USS Pasadena Relieved of Duty

GROTON, Conn. -- The commanding officer of an attack submarine currently undergoing maintenance at a Maine shipyard has been relieved of duty.

Navy Cmdr. Luis Molina was dismissed Friday as commander of the USS Pasadena, which was formerly based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Navy Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge, the commander of Submarine Group Two, says he lost confidence in Molina's ability to lead the submarine through its maintenance overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in Kittery, Maine. The submarine has been at the shipyard since September of 2011.

A spokeswoman for the submarine group in Groton, Conn., Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, said she could not comment on why Molina had been removed.

Molina has been reassigned to administrative duties.

According to a Navy press release, Cmdr. Mark E. Cooper has assumed all duties as commanding officer. Cooper recently spent one year at the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., earning a Master of Arts degree in National Security Strategy.